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TRANSCRIPT
January 2018
Copyright © 2018 Washington Virginia Maryland Garden Railway Society, Inc. All Rights
Reserved.
Panorama of our town
The WV&M Line
We never met a garden we couldn’t train!TM
Fairfax Station 2017 by Steve Shaner (photos also Steve’s)
From the coordinators (John Waters-Heflin, Jim O’Connell, and Steve Shaner), a hearty thank you, one and all, to our Fairfax
Station volunteers: Jim Fons, Jack Mullen, Geoff Cullison, Ralph Fox, Keith McCormick, Joel Magram, Carl Bon, Dillon
Fitzgerald, Sue Schmaltz, Jeff Schmaltz, Rin Musser, Ava Hendrickson, and Bill Krayer.
Setup proceeded quickly on Friday, with most of the estimated 350 feet of track in position by lunchtime. Lunch was pizza,
provided by the Museum under the supervision of Jeff Mitulla (and we thank you!). After our naps, we finished laying track and
connecting power, and had trains running well before 3 PM.
The museum has added display sheds and concrete apron, which gave us a new location for our command center and
siding/switching yard. The concrete area dramatically reduced the amount of track shimming needed, provided us a better view
of operations, and is in the sun most of the day: all in all, a huge bonus.
The children did their part, too, typically crowding by the exit of the Cullison Tunnel to watch the trains pop out, following trains
around the building, lap after lap, and of course, creating the occasional derailment.
Teardown on Sunday went quickly, with everything off the ground, put away and in the trailer by 5:30 PM.
Great weather and superb teamwork conspired to give us two days of running trains outdoors for large and enthusiastic crowds.
Despite traffic, old age, and other inconveniences, we got the job done, with very few unprintable epithets.
Special mentions: John Waters-Heflin did a lot of preliminary
work on Thursday, mowing the grass and blowing the leaves
away. Shel Cullison brought club flyers. Ray Rogali dropped by
to boost morale. Jeff Mitulla was able to take a break from his
museum duties and run some trains with us.
In closing, a big “THANK YOU” to the Museum for the
opportunity to come out and play, and for the nice lunches provided.
The WV & M Line
Calendar of Events
Upcoming WVMGRS Displays Other Train Related Events
G-Scale Trains at Fairfax Station January 21, 2018
Fairfax Station Railroad Museum
Fairfax, Virginia
For more information see their website
East Coast Large Scale Train Show March 30-31, 2018
Fairfax Station Railroad Museum
334 Carlisle Avenue
Expo Center
York, Pennsylvania
For more information see their website
Great Scal Model Train Show February 3-4, 2018
Maryland State Fairgrounds
Timonium, Maryland
Roundhouse Model Train Show March 3-4, 2018
B&O Railroad Museum
Baltimore, Maryland
For more information see their website
2017 Meetings & Activities Short Articles, Etc.
Page 2
January 20, 2018 (Saturday evening) –
WVMGRS Winter Gala at the Mid-County
Recreation Center
January 21 – Fairfax Station
February 18 – Cindy & Keith Galloway
March – Mary & Jack Mullen
April –
May – Shel & Geoff Cullison
June – Patty & John Waters-Heflin
July –
August 20 – Verna & Dusty
September – Merrie Rose & Stan Derr
October – Lynn Baldwin & Ted Tuck
November –
December –
Contact Mike Carski if you want to sign up
for a meeting in 2018
A (scale) Mile Long Garden RR video
Thanks to Herb Grassel! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q672YB7Hxbc
If you are interested in visiting one of our Meetings, please contact the [email protected].
Controller at WORK! Photo by Steve Shaner (Fairfax Station)
The WV & M Line
Page 3
Phil on the left,
Jim on the right.
Australia’s Pacific National Railroad by Ralph Fox
Here is a grain train seen 9/30/17 at Nhill, Victoria.
The WV & M Line
Page 4
Australia’s Indian Pacific Passenger Train (cont.)
And a few beautifully decorated covered hoppers in a nearby town.
The WV & M Line
Page 5
Australia’s Pacific National Railroad (cont.) by Ralph Fox
Phil on the left,
Jim on the right.
According to Wikipedia:
“The Indian Pacific is an Australian passenger rail service that operates between Sydney, on the Pacific Ocean, and Perth, on
the Indian Ocean. It is one of the few truly transcontinental trains in the world. The train first ran in February 1970 after the
completion of gauge conversion projects in South and Western Australia. The train's route includes the world's longest
straight stretch of railway track, a 478-
kilometre (297 mi) stretch of the Trans-
Australian Railway over the Nullarbor Plain.”
The weekly train takes 65 hours to traverse a
distance just shy of the Texas Eagle’s
distance from Chicago to Los Angeles.
Here the train from Sydney arrives in
Adelaide on 10/5/17 with backup power supplied by the Pacific National Railroad.
The WV & M Line
Page 6
Australia’s Indian Pacific Passenger Train (cont.)
Phil on the left,
Jim on the right.
The train pulls one or two “motorail” (autorack) cars only between Adelaide and Perth.
The WV & M Line
Page 7
Australia’s Indian Pacific Passenger Train (cont.)
Phil on the left,
Jim on the right.
The Indian Pacific is one of the three famous interstate railroads that visit Adelaide, about one third of the way across Australia
from east to west.
The WV & M Line
Page 8
Phil on the left,
Jim on the right.
ECLSTS “Show Car” by Steve Bittinger
I thought I would put this article in the newsletter so that the club members know that this years show car is being produced by
my company. I have contracted with Piko of Germany for the production. The cars will be sold exclusively by Star Hobby. The
car will be a two bay hopper with rib sides. They will be produced in Western Maryland speed lettering and made from injection
molded sold color plastics.
The cars will be available in four different road numbers. The cars are currently in production in Piko's Sonnenberg ,Germany
factory. I anticipate the entire order to be shipped by sea container the last week of January and landed here by the first week
of March. Star Hobby will offer the cars in a four car set priced at $250.
They can be pre-ordered now by contacting the store. The pre-production sample car is on display at Star Hobby. The two bay
hopper is a 55 ton design which started to appear on the Western Maryland Railway in the mid 1950's. Eventually this coal
hopper made up more than 60 percent of the railcars owned by the railroad. They often made up entire trains being pulled by
both steam and diesel locomotives. Many were still in use well into the 1980's. No large scale manufacturer has ever produced
this car. Although several train manufacturers have produced three and four bay hoppers. All profits from the sale of the cars
will be donated to the Western Maryland Historical Society.
This is the original Piko artwork presentation.
Photo by Steve Shaner (Fairfax Station)
Emails for Officers Emails for Committee Chairs
President: [email protected]
Vice President: [email protected]
Membership: [email protected]
Newsletter: [email protected]
Webmaster: [email protected]
The WV & M Line
Page 9
The Washington, Virginia & Maryland
Garden Railway Society
Elected Officers for 2017:
President: Shel Cullison
Vice President: Jebby Rasputnis
Secretary: Jean Magram
Treasurer: Elaine Senter
Standing Committee Chairs:
Newsletter:
Membership: Ted Tuck
Mtg. & Activities: Mike Carski
Company Store: Shel Cullison
Equipment: Grant Berry
Show: Jeff Mitulla
Trailer: Gregg Hendrickson
Show Garden: John Waters-Heflin
Web Site:
Membership in the Society is open to anyone.
The Society's monthly meetings are held at
member's homes in good weather and at public
meeting halls during the cold weather months. It
is the Society's intent to alternate meeting
places between Virginia and Maryland areas.
Meetings also alternate between Saturday and
Sunday, allowing for the varied schedules of our
members.
All are invited to bring trains, track and rolling
stock to all general membership meetings.
Ideas for the hobby are presented at the
meetings thru demonstrations, slide shows,
videotapes, and workshops. Varied interest of
our members include live steam, scratch
building, hand laying track, rock gardening,
Bonsai, and collecting. Most members operate
Gauge 1 track, but any gauge or scale is
welcome in the society.
Business meetings are held separately to allow
for the most enjoyment at General Membership
Meetings. All voting members are welcome to
attend these as well.
Membership dues are $20 for individual
membership, and $30 per family membership,
per calendar year. Checks may be made
payable to WVMGRS. The dues are used for
the monthly newsletter, meeting refreshments,
and any incidental expenses.
Are you Interested in Joining the WVMGRS?
Dues are prorated depending on the month you join.
Name _____________________________________
Spouse _____________________________
Children _____________________________________
Address ____________________________
City _________________ State _____Zip _________
Home Phone (_____)_____________
Work Phone (_____)_____________
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Email: ___________________________________
Membership Jan/Mar Apr/Jun Jul/Sep Oct/Dec
Individual $20 $15 $10 $5
Family $30 $22 $15 $7
Below is a Membership Form. You can print this page of the newsletter,
fill it out and send it to our Membership Chair at:
Ted Tuck
2312 Haddon Place
Bowie, MD 20716
Check one box on the left and circle amount enclosed:
Information about the monthly meeting is posted on the Members’
Only section of our website. Notification of new postings and other
Club announcements are sent by email. If you don’t have email, you
can arrange for a B&W mailed copy of the newsletter and directions,
etc., for the meetings through the newsletter editor.
For more information about our club, please send an email to our
Membership Chair, Ted Tuck, at [email protected].
For questions, the following officers/chairs can help you:
Facebook: Washington Virginia Maryland
Garden Railway Society (WVMGRS)
The WV & M Line
The WV & M Line
7601 Bear Forest Road
Hanover, MD 21076
Incorporated May 29, 1991
501(C) (3) Tax Exempt Status
July 2, 1992
http://www.wvmgrs.org
The opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of the authors
and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Society
Watching the train come out of the Cullison Tunnel Steve Shaner photo